Starbase

Version

This article has been verified for the current PC version (3.4) of the game.

Mammalian Citadel

A starbase is the primary space station used throughout the game and is used for determining the ownership of a given star system, construction, repair and maintenance of ships, collection and transportation of Trade Value in addition to it acting as a strategic fortress during warfare.

Mechanics[edit | edit source]

Constructing a starbase requires first fully surveying the desired system. The build cost is 100 Alloys and an additional influence cost on top of that. The influence cost is determined by a fixed cost which is then multiplied by the shortest path of hyperlane jumps (gates and wormholes act as "shortcuts") between the target systems and the empire's closest owned system.

Once built, the starbase will appear orbiting the center point of the system. It cannot be destroyed by any regular means but it can still be dismantled by its owner during peacetime if it is of no more than outpost level (higher-level starbases will need to be downgraded first) and the system is not colonized. If a starbase is dismantled, the system reverts to being neutral and unclaimed and can then claimed by any empire.

Besides the initial influence cost, upgrading the starbase to a higher level above outpost level will cost only alloys. Aside from making the starbase more powerful due to better base stats and the addition of more weapon components, the upgrade also allows the owner to fit the starbase with different buildings and modules to increase its defensive capabilities and improve its contribution to the empire beyond its basic role of system control and defense. One such important module is the Shipyard which enables the construction of military ships in the starbase. Having multiple shipyards on a starbase allows it to effectively act as a "fleet manufactory" by constructing several ships in parallel, simultaneously. Shipyards build order is independent from the main build order of starbase.

Though it is not possible to design a starbase, its components will be auto-fitted with the latest advanced technology as soon as they are made available (at no additional cost to the owner).

Starbase capacity[edit | edit source]

An empire can in theory have as many starbases as their economy can support but an empire can only maintain a limited number of upgraded starbases bigger than outposts. The number of upgraded starbases an empire can support is dictated by the starbase capacity and exceeding that capacity will cause all upkeep costs for starbases to increase by +25% Upkeep for every starbase exceeding the cap. This is an empire-wide modifier, and thus affects all starbases owned by the empire. This modifier also affects the maintenance of any modules and buildings on the starbases. Regardless of their level, each starbase bigger than an outpost occupies only one capacity slot and if the need arises, an empire can always downgrade existing starbases back to outpost level to reduce the number of upgraded starbases to within the cap limit.

The base starbase capacity is 3, which can be increased by the following:

+1 for every 10 systems owned by the empire
+2 adopting the Unyielding tradition tree
+2 Fortress Doctrine from Unyielding tradition tree
+2 Stellar Expansion technology
+2 Manifest Destiny technology
+2 Fortify the Border edict
+4 Trading Posts civic
+5 Grasp the Void ascension perk
+10 Covenant: End of the Cycle
+1 Interstellar Expansion repeatable technology (can only be researched 5 times)
+2 for each Strategic Coordination Center level, except the site of the megastructure (Total: +6)

Warfare behavior[edit | edit source]

Systems with starbases bigger than outposts require a higher influence cost to claim (25 influence). Consequently, those starbases grant a higher war-score if occupied successfully (10 occupation value). An additional benefit of upgraded starbases manifests in their including an FTL inhibitor which, as long as the starbase remains active, prevents enemy ships from leaving the system via any hyperlane other than the one they arrived through. This allows an FTL inhibitor-equipped starbase to turn strategically important systems into efficient choke points, delaying hostile fleets from leaving the system and advancing further by forcing them into an engagement which may last long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

During war, an attacker must disable the enemy's starbase within the system in order to be able to seize control of any planets within said system. As starbases cannot be destroyed, this is achieved by reducing their Hull points down to 0, disabling them. The starbase will then remain incapacitated for a duration of 30 days (after the latest attack), during which time any military ships in close proximity to the starbase will be able to gain control over it. If the starbase is left unoccupied and is not attacked, it will enter a self-repair phase and become operational again as soon as it regains 5% Hull points. If there are multiple empires fighting on one side of the war, the newly occupied system will then be assigned to the empire with the strongest claim, even if the system wasn't conquered by them.

Occupied starbases are fully operational and can repair ships of the side that controls it, inhibit FTL for "enemy" ships, and manage defense platforms, all empire-wide bonuses will also be applied, including home territory modifiers (The Eternal Vigilance ascension perk's platform cap of the original owner is also temporarily retained). However their buildings and modules cannot be changed, and they cannot be upgraded or downgraded, although they can be returned to the owner.

It's worth noting, that auto-upgrading a starbase can "gift" higher tech components to occupied starbases (including FTL inhibitors), while keeping their own more advanced components. They will stay equipped even if said starbase is reclaimed back, so repeated re-conquering might become harder both sides.

Systems containing an unoccupied starbase or unoccupied colonized planets will not be transferred in a forced status-quo peace.

Level[edit | edit source]

A starbase is auto-fitted with the latest components as soon as they are available to the empire. This is done automatically and has no additional cost for the empire - as such this also does not affect a starbase's level upgrade cost.

The weapon slots are fitted with the most effective kinetic and energy weapons (though not necessarily by equal division). The utility slots are divided equally between shield and armor components (auto-fitting does not add hull components here), while the auxiliary slot uses standard auto-fitting of a shield capacitor or auxiliary fire-control (whatever is available in order of priority).

Upgrading a starbase requires technology of the same name and can only be done in sequential order - meaning that if one started with a basic outpost and wants to upgrade it to a citadel, they have to go through every single level in between in order to get to the desired level. Downgrading a starbase, however, reduces its level to the basic outpost level (outpost) straight away - regardless of what level the starbase initially was - and removes any present buildings, modules, and any defense platforms over the outpost's capacity limit. Any resources invested into the starbase prior to downgrading will not be refunded.

Starting from the starport level all starbases can have an FTL inhibitor onboard if technology is available.

Constructing a new Starbase requires 75 Influence per hyperlane jump from the nearest owned system.

Note: The table lists the base properties of each starbase level. The actual values themselves will differ due to one's progress in-game (technology, tradition, and etc.), existing modifiers (if any) as well as individual starbase composition (buildings, modules, and etc.).

Level	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Modules	Buildings	Platforms	Trade protection	Hull	Armor	Weapons	Utilities
Outpost	100	100	1	0	0	3	0	5000	1000	1	2 1
Starport	200	360	2	2	1	6	8	10000	2000	1 2	6 1
Starhold	500	720	3	4	2	9	16	20000	5000	1 4	10 1
Star Fortress	1250	1080	4	6	3	12	24	40000	10000	1 6	14 1
Citadel	3500	1440	5	6	4	15	32	80000	20000	1 12	26 1

Affecting modifiers[edit | edit source]

Additional modifiers which affect various starbase parameters are summarized below:

Construction and maintenance modifiers

	Outpost influence cost
−50%	Devouring swarm
−40%	Fanatic xenophobe
−30%	Determined exterminator
−20%	Xenophobe Interstellar Dominion
−15%	Expansionist
−10%	Reach for the Stars

	Outpost build cost
−15%	Expansionist
+50%	Machine Empire

	Upkeep cost
−20%	Galactic Ambition
−20%	Unyielding Finisher Effect
+25%	"Exceeding starbase capacity" modifier per excess starbase

Upgrade related modifiers

	Upgrade cost
−50%	Fortress Doctrine
−15%	Corps of Engineers
−10%	Fortifier Home in the Sky

	Upgrade speed
+100%	Fortress Proclamation
+50%	Unyielding Adoption Effect
+25%	Corps of Engineers

Military properties related modifiers

	Damage
+25%	Eternal Vigilance
+33%	Defensive Zeal

	Hull points
+33%	Defensive Zeal
+25%	Eternal Vigilance
+10%	Gun Battery Hangar Bay Missile Battery

	Armor hit points
+10%	Gun Battery Hangar Bay Missile Battery

Modules[edit | edit source]

A fully upgraded starbase can support up to 6 modules. It is possible to construct multiple modules of the same type and the starbase will be called in the outliner accordingly. Each module costs 50 Alloys, which can be lowered by the following:

−25% Modular Engineering
−20% Home in the Sky
−10% "Zero-G Innovations" modifier

Module	Time	Upkeep	Effects	Requirements	Description
Shipyard	180	1	+1 Shipyard Capacity		A Shipyard may build one ship at a time, in parallel with other Shipyards.
Anchorage	180	1	+4 Naval capacity		Fleet anchorages are necessary to support the growth of our navy.
Gun Battery	180	1	+2 Medium weapon components +5 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points		Adds two medium-size weapon slots to the Starbase.
Missile Battery	180	1	+2 Guided weapon components +5 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points		Adds two torpedo weapon slots to the Starbase.
Trade Hub	180	1	+1 Collection Range	Gestalt Consciousness	A civilian docking area where merchants and traders can conduct business.
Solar Panel Network	180		+6 Energy	Gestalt Consciousness	Advances in solar panel technology cound offset the operating costs of our starbases.
Hangar Bay	180	1	+1 Hangar weapon components +10 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points	Carrier Operations technology	Adds a hangar for strike craft to the Starbase.

Buildings[edit | edit source]

A fully upgraded starbase can support up to 4 buildings. Unlike modules, it is only possible to construct a single building of any type. Building cost is reduced by −25% by the Modular Engineering technology.

Building	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Effects	Requirements	Description
Resource Silo	50	180	0	+5000 Resource Storage Capacity		Massive resource silos and energy storage facilities where large quantities of minerals and energy can be safely kept.
Target Uplink Computer	100	360	2	+50% Starbase Weapons Range		An advanced targeting computer that collects and analyzes data from all friendly sensor sources in-system. This makes it far easier for the Starbase to achieve targeting solutions.
Communications Jammer	50	180	1	–20% Enemy Combat Disengagement Chance in system –20% Enemy Sublight Speed in system	1 per system	These powerful jammers interfere with enemy ship-to-ship communications, making it difficult to coordinate fleet movements.
Disruption Field Generator	100	180	2	–20% Enemy Shield Hit Points in system	1 per system	Generates localized fields of agitated subatomic particles around hostile ships in the system, significantly reducing the effectiveness of their shields.
Crew Quarters	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep	Gestalt Consciousness	Provides accommodation and support for spaceship crews, reducing the logistical burden on fleets that are berthed here.
Crew Gestation Chambers	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep	Hive Mind	The ability to birth and gestate crew drones directly on-site is a logistical boon to local fleets.
Service Umbilicals	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep	Machine Intelligence	Service Umbilicals connect berthed fleets directly to the core intelligence of the station, allowing it to assist with repairs and refits.
Fleet Academy	100	360	2	+100 Ship Starting Experience	Interstellar Fleet Traditions Shipyard Gestalt Consciousness	For our newly recruited crews to be truly combat ready, they must have capable officers leading them. The Fleet Academy will ensure those officers have up-to-date knowledge on the doctrines and practice of interstellar warfare.
Battle Simulators	100	360	2	+100 Ship Starting Experience	Interstellar Fleet Traditions Shipyard Gestalt Consciousness	Repeated simulation of various battle scenarios will better prepare our shipboard combat drones for real combat.
Black Hole Observatory	100	360	2	+15 Physics Research +1 Dark Matter (if Dark Matter Drawing has been researched)	Subspace Sensors Star is a black hole	By building a specialized science facility dedicated to studying a black hole, our empire will surely be able to see improvements in our understanding of Physics.
Colossal Assembly Yards	1000	720	20	Colossus construction enabled Juggernaut construction enabled Star-Eater construction enabled	Shipyard Citadel Colossi or Juggernaut technologies	Abandoning the traditional concept of drydocks, colossal spaceships are assembled by a number of highly mobile independent construction platforms.
Command Center	250	360	5	+10% Allied Fire Rate in system	Command Matrix Star Fortress 1 per system	All system defense efforts are coordinated from this large facility, buried deep within the hull of the Starbase. Map arrays and 3D projections track all space traffic passing through the system at any given time.
Deep Space Black Site	100	360	2	+1 Unity +25% System Governing Ethics Attraction +5 System Stability	The Living State System is colonized Gestalt Consciousness	A large part of this Starbase has been set aside as a Black Site that does not officially exist. The entire system is closely monitored from here, while intelligence operatives carefully manipulate local media and social events to the best of their ability.
Defense-Grid Supercomputer	150	360	2	+8 Defense Platform Capacity	Synchronized Defenses	A powerful supercomputer coordinating the relative orbit and firing arcs of the Starbase's defensive platforms, increasing the number of defensive platforms that can be supported.
Hydroponics Bay	50	180	1	+10 Food	Eco Stimulation	By dedicating a section of this Starbase to Hydroponic farming, the station will be able to feed itself and even export excess produce to other systems.
Hyperlane Registrar	100	180	2	+1 Collection Range	Interstellar Economics Gestalt Consciousness	Assists friendly ships in the system with FTL travel by identifying ideal conditions for entering the hyperlanes and optimizing projected travel routes.
Listening Post	100	360	2	+2 Sensor Range +4 Hyperlane detection range	Gravitic Sensors	The Listening Post houses a team of dedicated operators tasked with analyzing hyperlane reverberations, functionally extending the range of the Starbase's sensors.
Naval Logistics Office	100	360	2	+2 Naval Capacity from Anchorages	Interstellar Fleet Traditions Anchorage	A minimal-but-extant bureaucratic layer increases the theoretical capacity of the Starbase's Anchorages.
Nebula Refinery	100	360	2	+10 Minerals +1 Exotic Gas (if Exotic Gas Extraction has been researched)	Zero-G Refineries System is inside a nebula	By processing the dust clouds of a nebula, we are able to refine and extract valuable minerals.
Offworld Trading Company	100	360	0	+2 Trade Value from Trading Hubs	Space Trading Trading Hub	The offices of a non-governmental organ dedicated to improving the conditions of interstellar trade.
Titan Assembly Yards	500	720	10	Titan construction enabled	Titans Shipyard Citadel	Specialized drydocks erected on the Starbase's hull allow for the construction of gargantuan Titan-class ships.
Transit Hub	100	180	3	+100% Automatic Resettlement Chance for every planet in system	Hyperlane Breach Points 1 per system	Dedicated infrastructure for non-military vessels, enabling a smooth and convenient transit network.
Offspring Outlook	150	180	2	+65% Accuracy +65% Evasion +65% Ship Fire Rate +65% Sublight Speed Does not stack with Offspring ship auras	Progenitor Hive	A starbase module allowing an Offspring to oversee and administrate ongoing battles within the system.
Ice Mining Station	100	360	0	+15% Mining Station Output Enables the Expand Planetary Sea decision	Hydrocentric ascension perk Frozen world or ice asteroids in system	This system is a plentiful source of unexploited ice. By setting up a harvesting station here, we could see it put to better use, creating habitable oceans for our kind. Ice asteroids can be mined once, frozen worlds up to 3 times.
Dragon Hatchery	750	720	10	Allows the construction of Fledgling Dragons	Citadel Here Be Dragons origin conclusion	Cutting-edge facilities for the rearing of young dragons.
Curator Think Tank	100	360	2	+5 Research	A diplomatic agreement with the Curator enclave System has a Curator station	By constructing a research facility entirely focused on learning from, and cooperating with, the Curators, we are able to make significant contributions to our scientific progress.
Art College	200	360	2	+10 Unity	A diplomatic agreement with the Artisan enclave System has an Artisan station	This zero-g Art College, operated in conjunction with the nearby Artisan Enclave, celebrates the beauty of outer space in the works produced by its talented students.
Trader Proxy Office	100	360	0	−5% Market Fee	System has a Trader enclave Galactic Market access Gestalt Consciousness	The Trader Enclave enjoy special privileges on the Galactic Market, which can also benefit us.
Salvage Works	100	360	3	–20% Docked ship upkeep +30% Docked ship hull repair speed +30% Docked ship armor repair speed	A diplomatic agreement with the Salvager enclave System has the Salvager enclave	This bustling annex equips our engineering teams with a cornucopia of tools and spare parts, facilitating closer collaboration with the nearby Salvager Enclave.
Mercenary Garrison	100	360	20	+15% Allied Fire Rate in system	A diplomatic agreement with the Mercenary enclave 1 per system	A collection of barracks hosting military contractors. These grizzled veterans organise regular drills for the rest of the crew, and stand ready to defend the station - as long as we pay them.

Shroud Beacon[edit | edit source]

The Shroud Beacon is a unique starbase building that can only be constructed once per empire by empires that reached an agreement with the Shroud-Touched Coven enclave or have the Teachers of the Shroud origin. It costs 500 Alloys, 25 Rare Crystals and 3 Monthly Energy and cannot be built in systems that already have a wormhole. Upon being completed the Shroud Building will create a wormhole leading to a system with one of their stations. If the Shroud Beacon is dismantled ships will no longer be able to use the wormhole until it is rebuilt. Each time a fleet travels through the wormhole the following may happen:

74% chance nothing happens.
10% chance a leader changes appearance and gains 200 experience. Xenophobe, Fanatic Xenophobe and Gestalt Consciousness empires have the option to dismiss the leader for a small amount of Society Research.
10% chance a leader gains the Adaptive, Carefree, Meticulous, Paranoid or Stubborn trait.
5% chance the fleet is randomly enhanced.
1% chance a Corrupted Avatar guardian attacks the Shroud Beacon system

Defenses[edit | edit source]

Mammalian Ion Cannon

Because starbases are vital targets during warfare, an empire must ensure that they can maintain control over their own starbases to prevent their opponents from seizing control of the system. Investing resources into arming a starbase can allow to function as a strong deterrent to enemy invasions, a powerful supporting power during a fleet battle in the system and a starbase that is heavily armed enough can potentially even repel an entire enemy fleet by itself. Successfully maintaining control over every single starbase in the empire is by itself enough to allow an empire to end the war through a status-quo without losing any systems, earning them a defensive victory.

A starbase's self-defense capabilities can be reinforced with the construction of defense platforms. Defense platforms are smaller military stations that are deployed around the starbase and act as weapons platforms. Defense platforms have two sections for weapon slots which can be outfitted with a wide variety of weapon configurations. They will engage any incoming hostile ships, effectively acting as a supporting weapon, by attacking and distracting them from focusing their efforts on the starbase itself, allowing the starbase to engage the enemies and support the defense platform(s). When compared with ships, platforms are situated between Destroyers and Cruisers classes, their hull and armament slightly better than the former, while their armor-potential is equivalent to the latter. However, due to them having no Evasion whatsoever, individual platforms are still very vulnerable, and if a strong, sustainable firepower is a priority it is wiser to put more turrets on the base itself and only add in Defense platforms once the starbases available armaments have been maxed out.

As opposed to the auto-fitting of the starbase's components, defense platforms can be altered through the ship designer allowing for several designs to be built based on the different needs in each front and upgraded based on this designs. However, unlike ships, their designs cannot be switched once built, necessitating dismantling and complete rebuilding. It also renders any transferred platforms non-upgradeable.

Each starbase can support only a certain number of defense platforms based on its level. However, the defense platform capacity can be increased with the following:

Globally: +5 Eternal Vigilance, +4/+8/+12 Strategic Coordination Center galactic wonder, +50% Unyielding tradition finisher
Locally: +8 Defense-Grid Supercomputer

If all of these modifiers are applied, a single starbase can support up to 60 Defense platforms when upgraded to Citadel level. And more if a player gets more than 1 Strategic Coordination Center galactic wonders.

In addition to the regular defense platforms, a citadel-level starbase is also capable of hosting an Ion Cannon, a more powerful platform type that carries a weapon identical to the Perdition Beam titan weapon. It is titan-class hull-wise, but only battleship-class armor-wise. Each Ion Cannon has an upkeep of 8 Energy.

An ion cannon platform is equivalent to 8 defense platforms in terms of capacity slots and can only be constructed on citadel-level starbases.